Don’t box Dan Micciche in

Far East Dallas Trustee Dan Micciche was the first big success story for Dallas Kids First. When he filed in 2012 to run against incumbent Bruce Parrott, the PAC and its sympathizers flooded his campaign coffers and showed up to block walk for him.

Six years later, Micciche is the only trustee the fractious board has been able to agree upon as president. He is revered by education reformers, though he doesn’t see himself as one of them; and he also has found favor with teacher associations, though they take issue with some of his stances.

They don’t like, for example, that his vote was one of seven that brought about the Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI), a merit-based teacher pay system pushed by former Supt. Mike Miles and hailed by reformers. However, Micciche also has written several of the revisions to TEI, based on teacher input.

Reform-minded PACs and teacher associations don’t often agree on endorsements, so the fact that they both endorsed Micciche before the 2015 election made him “the shining star,” according to a Dallas Morning News story.

His seat was open this election cycle, too, but Micciche’s ability to straddle the line and reject any labels likely is the reason no one filed to run against him.